Design

The process took a lot of work, much experimentation was done with xenita to take the most advatage of the material, meke it an ercogonomic comfortable chair, transportable and easy to assemble. The end result is quite comfortable but may be improved in its locking system, which could be alot stronger, Over all the chair fullfills the mayority of the set expectations, but it could still be improven.

Final Prototype

This is the final prototype before manufacturing the chair in Xenita board. The advantages of this chair are, it is resistant, it is ergonomical, it is made of only four pieces, and it is easy to manufacture. I hope there are no complications when building the product.

Flat Pattern

After making several model attempts, I came up with a result that has the features I need and fits adequately in the 1830 X 1220 mm of Xenita board provided for the brief.

Exploring Structures

Laying Ground

My initial idea for the structure was to create a chair that is easy to cut and assemble that was strong, and that could be made from the least amount of pieces. Based on this I came up with this model. I like the shape and the simplicity with which it can be bent and fold. The next task is finding a way to give it enough support to hold a person whilst keeping its simplicity and ergomics.

Process

Before focusing on the design details I dedicated time to exploring the shape. These are some mock ups of the experiments I made with cardboard. In general I like wide shape, and I want a design with strong support, and above all, its comfortability in use.

Developement

In order to grasp a better concept about ergonomics and how the person will sit in my chair, I have made a human dummy with which I will test my furniture models and ideas.
The first model I have developed is based primarily on the shape I perceived will be very comfortable, nonetheless, I think this takes too much material (more than one sheet of Xenita-board) and is too complicated therefore, I decided to try new models and make better ideas.

Initial Concept

My initial concepts were based on designing a comfortable piece of furniture that invites people to sit on and talk for a conference or a forum.
The three seats I propose are designed considering to be very ergonomic and spacious, and to have arm rests and back support to allow comfort when seating for a long time.

Nonetheless, considering 100% Design Tokio holds forums were large amounts of people sit to hear and take notes on, it seems more logical to design my chair for the audience attending the event. Therefore my concept follow-ups will be more adapted to this group, instead of being a chair for the stage of the forum.

Reference images

Here are some reference images about the five aspects I am considering with my design: cardboard work, ergonomics, simplicity in design resistant structure, and design innovation.

Diseño Cartonero

These are a series of cardboard designs made by Argentinga-based artist Santiago Morahan. The project is called Diseño Cartonero (A play of words meaning "Cardboard Design", and “Garbage Collector Design”))
Morahan purchases his recycled cardboard from garbage collectors, and than makes his pieces by hand so that it becomes a unique creative expression.

I think these designs have a beautiful silhouette, and are examples of the shapes and forms that carboard can be worked on. All of these pieces look firmly held, well manufacturded, and resistant to weight when necessary.

Posture Analysis

Since an important feature of my design will be the comfort in its use, I have dedicated some time to analyze the posture people take when discussing about a subject while seating.

These are observations from pictures I have found. Hopefully this will help me develop a chair so comfortable, it invite the user to sit and openly talk in the forum about his or her subject.

Positive Inspiration

These chairs are the winning result of a design competition where the challenge was set to create a chair that Does Good, Feels Good, and Looks Good.
The design in the left is the Posi+ive Lounge Chair. The concept behind it is that a design simple enough to be made by folding a piece of paper, would be easy to produce in an industrial system. It is made by a single piece of bent plywood covered by a cushion of wool felt, and rests on a single bent round steel bar.
On the right is the Pandanus Chair, made from a cellulose-based plastic that is biodegradable, and can be produced through a low energy manufacturing process. This is an easy stackable design that can maximize space when shipping and storing.

From these results it is notorious that ergonomics and function produce beauty; and simplicity in design can lead to interesting results in which nothing else is needed to be added or taken away from it. This is a good example of the path I want to take on when creating my design. Also, the shape of both chairs is inspiring to work on by folding paper, cardboard, and X-board, to make interesting shapes for my own design.